Alix in Paris!: WEEK 2!

So, I've been a slacker when it comes to this blog...I guess I'm just not in the habit yet. Also, I've been super busy getting settled and getting adjusted. So, where did I leave off? I won't be able to mention everything, but I'll try to include all the major things.

Since my last post I've moved to a single room :) I actually never ended up meeting my roommate, as I moved before she arrived. Now, I'm in a room that I love, with plenty of space for all my stuff! I love it. Also, I've met a bunch of great people from American University. Out of all of the students doing the MICEFA program, the AU kids are the only others who are also using ACCENT for housing arrangements. Out of all of us using ACCENT, I'm the only one in ACCENT's student housing for Americans. They are all doing homestays at various locations across Paris.

So what touristy things have I done so far? On Saturday January 9th I went to Notre Dame when it was snowing! It was so beautiful to see the whole square covered in snow. There, I met up with another girl in the program from American University named Alex. We decided to get out of the cold and go to a little brasserie and have lunch. I had french fries, french onion soup, and a café crème. It was just what I needed on such a cold day. Being the first time either I or Alex had eaten out in Paris, we didn't know that the tip is included, and left like a 4 euro tip. Oops. Here, the tip is always included in the total, and only if the service was excellent should you maybe leave a euro for the waiter.

After lunch we met up with 2 other girls, also from AU, at Notre Dame and walked through. It was amazing because there was music playing, something that doesn't happen all the time. After Notre Dame, all of the MICEFA students met on Pont Neuf for a boat tour on the Seine.

A snowy Notre Dame

Picture from Boat Tour on the Seine

After the weekend, on Monday the 11th and Tuesday the 12th, I took written and oral placement tests in order to be placed in a MICEFA french class that is every morning until February. There are 5 sections, 1 being for those who are pretty much fluent, and 5 being for beginners. I was fortunately placed in section 2, even though I thought I did horribly on the tests. The class is mainly review of all the major grammar rules, and has been very helpful--there are so many things that I completely forgot about! Classes started on that Thursday. It has been held every morning at Paris 3, a.k.a. la Nouvelle Sorbonne. Paris 4 is the old Sorbonne, the school that many have probably heard of. I don't get credit for it, but Richmond does require that anyone studying in a country that is not English-speaking must take a course in the native language.

Over the weekend (Jan 17, Saturday) after classes began, I had most of the people from American University who are also doing ACCENT housing (home-stays) over to my little studio for a little soirée. Before most people came, 2 girls, Kelsey and Julia, stopped over to escape the rain and chill out until the party. I ended up dying Julia's hair with some hair dye she bought here. She has dark brown hair, and she wanted to lighten it up a little bit. When it was time for her to wash the dye out, we had a little scare, as it seemed like her roots had turned orange! Kelsey and I tried to stay calm, but Julia was definitely freaking out, like anyone would! And during the freak-out, a wine glass was dropped and broke, creating an even more chaotic state in my little room! However, once we cleaned the glass, and once Julia's hair dried completely, the color evened out and it turned out to be the exact color on the box! Whew! I felt so guilty for being the one who dyed it in the first place.

Later, slowly but surely others started to arrive, until before I knew it I had like 10 people in my room! It was a tight squeeze, but it was fun to have everyone over. We made pasta, had tons of wine, cheese and bread, and a galette des rois, a traditional flaky pastry cake that is only eaten in January. The youngest person slices the cake, and then hands out slices to everyone. Baked somewhere in the cake is a little plastic toy, and whoever finds it is the "roi," or king, and the king then has to choose a "reine," or queen. Or, I guess visa versa if it's a girl that finds the toy first, haha.

Afterwards, we all went to Rue de Lappe, a little street in walking distance from my place that is filled with bars. We ended up are a bar called Bar Charlotte, or something like that, which had a very cool atmosphere. Then, we went to this really cool bar/restaurant called Sanz Sans, or maybe it's Sans Sanz? I can't remember. It's on Rue du Faubourg-St Antoine.

I'm not positive because of course I didn't write it down, but then the next day on Sunday the 17th I went to the Louvre with 4 other girls from AU. It's great because with a valid student ID proving you are a student here, admittance is free! We went through the Sully and Richelieu wings, which included artifacts from ancient Egypt, and Napoleon's apartment, to name a couple of my favorites.